About Schizophrenia
- Introduction to Schizophrenia
- Diagnosing Schizophrenia
- Schizophrenia Prognosis
- Effects and Complications
- Can Schizophrenia be Prevented?
- Schizophrenia Risk Factors
- What Causes Schizophrenia?
- History of Schizophrenia
- Childhood Schizophrenia
- Schizophrenia Statistics
Schizophrenia Treatment
Drugs for Schizophrenia Treatment
- Conventional Antipsychotics
- Atypical Antipsychotics
- Supplements
Schizophrenia Types
- Residual Schizophrenia
- Hebephrenic Schizophrenia
- Disorganized Schizophrenia
- Paranoid Schizophrenia
- Undifferentiated Schizophrenia
- Catatonic Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia Symptoms
- Managing Symptoms
- Hearing Voices
- Schizophrenia Delusions
- Schizophrenia and Suicide
- Movement Disorders
Related Conditions
- Split Personality
- Anxiety and Schizophrenia
- Depression and Schizophrenia
- Bipolar Disorder
- Brief Psychotic Disorder
- Shared Psychotic Disorder
- Schizotypal Personality Disorder
- Schizophreniform Disorder
- Schizoid Personality
- Delusional Disorder
- Substance Abuse
- Schizoaffective Disorder
- Schizophrenia and Self Injury
Living With Schizophrenia
- Family Relationships
- Schizophrenia and Homelessness
- Schizophrenia and The Workplace
- Schizophrenia and Violence
- Schizophrenia and Hallucinations
When a person is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, delusions and hallucinations (typically auditory hallucinations which involve hearing things) are much more prominent than with other types of schizophrenia.
Hallucinations are perceptual experiences which aren't real - for example, the person hears voices but no one is talking. He or she may see things which aren't really there. Auditory hallucinations are the most common, followed by visual. But hallucinations may also involve smell, touch and taste.
Delusions are firmly held beliefs which aren't really based in reality. There may be a connection to something real, but the belief itself is not. For example, if a person believes that aliens have removed all of his organs and replaced them with alien organs, that is a delusion.
As with all types of schizophrenia, a person with paranoid schizophrenia will experience a significant decline in his ability to function in at least one major area of life such as work, school, relationships or the ability to care for himself.
There is more information on paranoid schizophrenia in the "Paranoid Schizophrenia" article on this site (check the menu on the right, under "Schizophrenia Types").
Dr. Cheryl Lane